However he has now told MTV that discussions have indeed taken place with regards to Beetlejuice 2.

‘I’ve e-mailed Tim a couple of times, talked to the writer (Seth Grahame-Smith) a couple of times but all really really preliminary stuff,’ Keaton told MTV.

The actor – who has returned to screens in the remake of Robocop – added: ‘I always said that’s the one thing I’d like to do again, if I ever did anything again. But it kind of required Tim to be involved in some way or another.’

Grahame-Smith, who worked with Burton on Dark Shadows, told Entertainment Weekly in 2011 that Keaton was central to the plot of the new movie.

He said: ‘The star of the movie has to be Michael Keaton as Beetlejuice, and it’s a true continuation 26 years later.’

The original film starred Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin as a dead couple who hire Beetlejuice to try and rid their home of its new living occuprants – only for havoc to ensue.

There is no word yet on whether Davis and Baldwin would return for a sequel, although fellow co-star Winona Ryder has hinted that she might be ready to sign up.